Lost My HR Job After Speaking Up About Workplace Issues – Was I Wrong to Report?

Dear All,

I recently faced a problem which led to me losing my job. I want to share this with all the HR people and seek your suggestions on the matter. It may take just 10 minutes of your time to read this, but can you see my condition?

I lost my first job in October 2008 due to the recession because I was being paid a high salary (6 LAC). The company gave me notice while I was on leave for personal reasons. I accepted the decision, thinking I would find a new job in the market as I have an MBA in HR with 6 years of experience in a generalist profile and I am pursuing my Ph.D. in HR from Mumbai University. However, due to the recession, it took me almost 3 months to find a new job. Eventually, I received a call from a small company to set up their HR department since they did not have one. I accepted the offer because I had nothing else at hand. They offered me just 16,000 rupees for 12 days of part-time work, a significant decrease from my previous monthly salary of 45,000 rupees. In the span of 4 months, I introduced various HR processes such as Attendance Register, Punching Attendance, HR Manual, Training Manual, Org Chart, Employee Record, Appointment Letters, Recruitment, etc. I found satisfaction in my work. However, I encountered a situation where the long-term employees of the company, with tenures ranging from 18 to 10 years, were spreading negative comments about the company to new employees. Despite my warnings to them, they continued to do so, and the new employees remained silent.

This has been happening for the last 4 months. I have hired at least 4 new staff members who have shared the same negative opinions about the company and are seeking new job opportunities. Feeling responsible, I decided to inform the management about this issue. I approached the VP and MD and reported that the employees were misguiding the new joiners about the company.

A meeting was called by my boss with both new and old staff members. When questioned, only one new employee supported my statement, while the rest denied hearing any negative comments and focused on their work. I felt speechless and insulted as I had no evidence to prove my point. I asked the new employees to speak up, but they chose to remain silent, citing job security concerns and the poor job market.

Two days later, the one new employee who supported me and I were issued a notice to resign, citing poor people management skills, although they were satisfied with my HR work. They claimed they no longer needed an HR department due to company losses. The longstanding employees who had been with the company for over a decade accused me of lying, and I had no means to defend myself as I could not record their words.

Friends, what do you suggest? Am I wrong? Is it wrong to fulfill your duties? Should one remain silent, accept their pay, and carry out assigned tasks? I have decided to change my career path away from HR. I am no longer willing to work in any company.

A Needy & Poor HR

This is my point of view. I think that the company has been running for more than 20 years and more than 80% of the employees are seniors. Obviously, it's difficult to integrate these seniors with new employees. To solve this, you could conduct some activities that would allow both groups to participate, which may help to foster camaraderie.

According to me, your management is right. Why would they want to lose profit (i.e., 80% of employees) by speaking in your favor when they know you are correct?

HR should act smartly as a mediator between employees and employers! 🌟 Cheers, Nithya 😜

Dear Sharmila,

In my opinion, at least what you can do is to have satisfaction that you did your HR job honestly and wholeheartedly. Results are not always in our favor, but I'm sure your HR experience will bear fruits later on.

So, there's no need to think of changing your career. Instead, focus on finding a new job. Enjoy the process! :-P

Nitu

Dear Madam,

As per me, what happened with you is a helpless condition. You can only help yourself. You mentioned losing a job and then rejoining another company for a lower salary. You introduced many more things there, and everything was okay until then. But what happened next will happen to all under different situations.

I am finding many posts on topics like changing the attitudes of seniors, bosses, etc. But you are confident enough, you have the capacity to analyze the situation, so why are you giving up on yourself? After losing a job in a tough market, you got a job and tried your best. Why this confusion?

Ask the above questions to yourself; you will come back with a greater force. I'm not commenting on the senior employees or the management of your previous company because if you are committed, you will succeed. Take a rest for a few days, start rocking again, and don't leave the HR line for an incident like this.

Giving up once in life costs a lot, if I am right!!!

Best wishes,

Dear Sharmila,

All this is just a learning. Now you know that from next time onwards:

a) you will not opt to work for a management that has no intentions of valuing your initiaveness

b) you will not report any problem before having a documented proof of the same - e.g., like email.

Please know that such info about the company being bad and not a nice place to work is being shared by most company employees. They fear they will lose their job or the newcomer will get more importance - and they may lose their value. Forget about the past - plan for your future. Search for a better job - it is tough, but keep looking. Never let go of faith in yourself. I suggest you show the work here in this second company as a consulting job - that you took as a part-time assignment.

Thanks to all, but I want to know if I have done right or wrong? My question is, I don't have proof because they always do. How can I arrange documentary proof? The new employees kept silent because they don't want to lose their jobs. In our company, I'm next to the VP, so I can only report to the VP. The VP then conveys everything to the MD. If the MD calls each employee into a cabin and asks the facts, I think they will tell the truth. However, my MD is a difficult person; he calls every employee to a common meeting which might make the new employees afraid to speak the truth.

I hope you all understand my point. I know I can get a much better job; I'm confident about that. This situation is happening to me for the first time. I have faced significant challenges in my relatively short career of 6 years, and before this, I have only worked in corporates where management decides what is right. Unfortunately, that's not the case in this company. :(:(:(:?

Dear Sharmila,

Are you trying to convince yourself that you have done the perfect thing, but your management is stupid?

Please understand that each and every thing that has happened to you has been a great learning for you, maybe a small lesson just on time, so that you escape from a major problem in the future.

You have anyways moved out of that job, and even if we tell you that you were right or your MD is stupid - your confidence about yourself remains unshaken, right?

So don't keep thinking about what happened because you cannot go back and see what best can be done to have avoided that issue. I cannot say if what you have done is wrong - because, in a few cases, sometimes you have the power and authority to explain to the management about the negative talk - but sometimes, especially in owner-driven companies - even a new VP may not have the authority as much as a sweeper who has been working closely with the MD's family for the last 15-20 years.

Happens....

So - again, it's just a learning. Stop thinking or demanding to know if you were right or wrong. In all senses, what you did literally was "correct" - but please remember there needs to be some proof. Need not be that everything documented is the only proof - it can be even a mere witness outside the company, or within the company. But the statement must be strong.

Such issues must be handled only after you have gained good trust amongst your Senior Management.

Know your environment and act accordingly.

Dear Sarmila,

Hi,

I read your story. My opinion is that you made a major mistake by giving the names of the employees who have been long associated with the company. The company management has faith in them, and you are new. The rest of the employees are also new. I totally agree with Mr. Harpreet Singh. I will share my story from about 16 years ago when I was working with an MNC. One of our bosses joined us and presented a false degree of MBA (from a reputed university). This boss was favored by our head of department (VP - HR). A friend of mine graduated from the same institute in the same year that he mentioned in his records (all the personal files were in my possession). I reported this matter to our VP-HR with the records, but action was taken against me because I complained about my boss. However, I continued the job and left after 4 years. During this period, I became well-known for starting T&D, and the management was very pleased as our productivity increased by 125%. During my tenure with this company, the same VP-HR left, and a new one joined. Meanwhile, he was also promoted to DGM. When I resigned from the same company, my new VP was surprised (as I had also been promoted to Jr. Manager). Upon obtaining my personnel file, he noted a prior warning and inquired about it. I explained the whole story, leading to my resignation. He relieved me and conducted an investigation, which revealed the truth I had told him. The individual in question was dismissed. Even though I had left the organization, I became a double hero. It has been 14 years since I left, and the entire management knows me well and welcomes me to return. However, I am currently working as the Corporate Head of HR in another MNC.

In sharing my story with you, my advice is that you made a blunder by revealing the names. They may also be favorites of the management, so try to gather facts and confide in some employees before taking any action.

My best wishes to you in finding a new job soon. Do not repeat the same mistakes.

Sincerely, [Your Name]

Dear Jai,

THANKS. I will never do it again; that's 110% sure. But don't you think management should know about those employees who "jis thali me kathe hai usme ched karte hai"? I did the same thing; I never disclosed their names, but my MD wouldn't believe me until he asked for the names. He assured me he would keep my name secret if I told him the truth. However, I was shocked when he called a meeting and informed everyone that our HR had revealed my name, stating that X was making false statements about company Y. At that moment, everyone denied it, and I had no proof. New employees didn't want to risk losing their jobs, so they remained silent. When I joined, they did the same to me. Management wants to believe in productive staff like sales employees, whom they can't let go due to the tough market conditions during the recession. Despite having good projects, they wanted to close the matter by asking me to resign. This hurt me deeply. I cried for two days, not because I lost my job, but because management did not listen to me; they only see their profits.

In your case, you have documentary proof, but how can we document what they are saying wrong about the company?